Word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most useful — and affordable — ways to build a buzz for your company. It happens when customers are so impressed with the service they received, the products they ordered or the outcome they achieved, that they go on to rave about the experience with others.

One study from Semrush found that 64% of marketers say that word-of-mouth is the most effective form of marketing, with 83% of marketers using it to increase brand awareness. Yet for many businesses, word-of-mouth marketing is one of the most untapped channels.

Want to improve your word-of-mouth marketing? Try viewing it through the lens of social media. Sharon Hurley Hall, a B2B writer, says that this may be the key in helping you drive sales, inspire loyalty and grow to reach new audiences.

In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share four ideas from Hall on how you can get more word-of-mouth sales on social media.

1. Inspire customers to contribute. User-generated content is one of the best ways to boost word-of-mouth marketing. This may look like asking your customers to use a branded hashtag when they post a picture of themselves with your product. For example, if a client is using promos at a local event like a 5K, ask the client to post a photo of participants with their logoed items.

2. Ask for reviews. Positive reviews go a long way at driving word-of-mouth sales. Hall says it’s important to make it easy for buyers to leave reviews, whether it’s on Google or a business profile. You could also contact customers after they work with you and encourage them to leave reviews. Consider tagging and thanking the customers who leave great reviews to build the relationship and make them feel good about being seen, she says.

3. Show your values. To get people talking, don’t be timid about what matters to your business. Do you support specific causes? Be vocal about it — and accept that not everyone will share your same values. When customers see that your values align with theirs, they may be inspired to share information about your company widely, Hall says.

4. Start a referral program. According to Hall, social media is an excellent platform to start and run a referral program to drive even more sales. She says that with the right incentive, such as a discount, a first look at a new product or even a chance of a prize, your customers can get the opportunity to spread the word about your company.

Word-of-mouth marketing can be a great way to build visibility for your business and garner more leads. It can also help you establish stronger relationships with current clients, which can lead to brand loyalty. Try the four ideas above to make word-of-mouth marketing work for your company.

Source: Sharon Hurley Hall is a B2B writer who contributes posts for the American Express blog.